Apple knocked off top spot as world's most valuable brand

Google has overtaken Apple to become the "most valuable global brand" this year, according to brand consultancy Millward Brown's annual BrandZ rankings.

Just like last year, technology brands dominated the top 10.

The ranking is based on interviews with more than 3 million consumers plus data on the financial and business performance of each company, using data from Bloomberg and Kantar Worldpanel.

These are the top 10 most valuable brands in the world and an analysis of what happened over the last 12 months to shift those companies into their respective rankings.

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World's most valuable brands

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Apple knocked off top spot as world's most valuable brand

10. IBM

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9. McDonald's

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8. Verizon

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7. Amazon

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6. Visa

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5. Facebook

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4. AT&T

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3. Microsoft

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2. Apple

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1. Google

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10. IBM

Brand value: $86.2 billion

Percentage change from last year: -8%

Last year's rank: 4

What happened: Millward Brown says that IBM is "investing in its future," particularly with its cognitive-computing system Watson, which is working across areas such as advertising, healthcare, education, and retail.

7. Amazon

Brand value: $98.9 billion

Percentage change from last year: +59%

Last year's rank: 14

What happened: Amazon was the fastest-riser in this year's rankings.

Millward Brown said Amazon is constantly disrupting other sectors by creating new industry standards — everything from one-hour delivery time, to its own proprietary entertainment content, the testing of delivery drones, and its Echo personal assistant.

6. Visa

Brand value: $100.8 billion

Percentage change from last year: +10%

Last year's rank: 5

What happened: Visa is the only financial brand in the top 10 this year.

The company is a big sponsor of sporting events and its blue and white logo is ubiquitous in retailers across the world.

Millward Brown also credits Facebook's long-term vision in areas such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and connecting the parts of the world that are not yet on the internet, for the increase in its overall brand value this year.

4. AT&T

Brand value: $107.4 billion

Percentage change from last year: +20%

Last year's rank: 6

What happened: AT&T is the second telecoms company in the top 10.

Millward Brown suggests one of the reasons AT&T outperformed its competitors was the quad-play (mobile, fixed-line, internet, and TV) bundle it offers, through the acquisition of DirecTV.

The research company also notes AT&T formed connected cars partnerships with automakers including Ford, BMW, and Tesla.

3. Microsoft

Brand value: $121.8 billion

Percentage change from last year: +5%

Last year's rank: 3

What happened: Microsoft is the world's most valuable b2b brand, according to Millward Brown.

The company has seen "exponential growth" in its commercial cloud business — which has mostly been driven by its Office 365 programs — and Windows 10 is now active on more than 270 million devices worldwide.

In order to keep laser-focused, the company has streamlined its smartphone hardware business.

2. Apple

Brand value: $228.5 billion

Percentage change from last year: -8%

Last year's rank: 1

What happened: Millward Brown said that Apple's lack of big new products launching this year impacted its brand value.

However, Millward Brown says Apple's move to invest in Didi Chuxing in China has shown how "Apple has progressively moved to building an ecosystem served not only by gadgets, but also services." Another big service launch was Apple Music, which rolled out last summer.

1. Google

Brand value: $229.2 billion

Percentage change from last year: +32%

Last year's rank: 2

What happened: Millward Brown says "Google has thrived thanks to continual innovation, increased revenue from advertising, and growth in its cloud business."

Google has also been "very transparent about what it's working on," which boosted its brand value, Millward Brown added.